Frostpunk 2‘s release date has been postponed, following the player feedback received by 11 Bit Studios after the recently held beta.
Slated originally for a release on July 25, 2024, Frostpunk 2 will now be released on September 20, 2024. Game directors Jakub Stokalski and Łukasz Juszczyk shared the news via a Steam blog, highlighting that the decision has been made so as to deliver “the best game possible.”
Players gave the game an average rating of 8 out of 10 after the beta experience, but the developers feel that they require additional time to “guarantee the best possible experience at launch.”
The team is currently working on more features and Frostpunk 2 developers want to release the game with these features available at launch, and “not in a patch added after the release.”
The announcement does not only carry the explanation behind the delay, but also reveals information about the additional features that will be added to Frostpunk 2. These features include new additions to the game mechanics, improvements to UI and UX, and a new city feature called Zoom Stories.
Improvements to game mechanics
Game mechanics are being improved by 11 Bit Studios, so as to provide more options to manage the city. Improvements include changes to temperature, heat and proximity-based gameplay, and balance changes for Hubs.
Workforce management in Frostpunk 2 will be more “detailed and flexible”, and players will be able to reshape their districts after constructing buildings. Choices to deal with protests will also be improved, and a new resource is being introduced.
UI and UX improvements
Given that Frostpunk 2 is an upcoming survival strategy game with a lot of variables to take into account, a user-friendly and effective interface is a must. Hence, the team is also working on improving the HUD, Idea Tree, and frostland interface. A new construction menu with five new city Hubs is also being added to Frostpunk 2.
Zoom Stories
Based on player feedback, the developers are adding a feature called Zoom Stories, allowing players to zoom into the city and watch the citizens more closely as they go about their lives and jobs.
All of these changes sound exciting, and the scale of Frostpunk 2 is clearly much bigger than its predecessor. In Frostpunk, it was always a difficult task to reorganize the structure of the city without demolishing buildings. The developers are also adding more “more thorough and complex approach” to dealing with protests, and after having experienced how difficult Frostpunk was, only time will tell how challenging Frostpunk 2 is going to be.
